Status and distribution of jaguarundi in Texas and Northeastern México: Making the case for extirpation and initiation of recovery in the United States

Abstract The jaguarundi (Puma yagouaroundi) is a small felid with a historical range from central Argentina through southern Texas. Information on the current distribution of this reclusive species is needed to inform recovery strategies in the United States where its last record was in 1986 in Texas. From 2003 to 2021, we conducted camera‐trap surveys across southern Texas and northern Tamaulipas, México to survey for medium‐sized wild cats (i.e., ocelots [Leopardus pardalis], bobcats [Lynx rufus], and jaguarundi). After 350,366 trap nights at 685 camera sites, we did not detect jaguarundis at 16 properties or along 2 highways (1050 km2) in Texas. However, we recorded 126 jaguarundi photographic detections in 15,784 trap nights on 2 properties (125.3 km2) in the northern Sierra of Tamaulipas, Tamaulipas, México. On these properties, latency to detection was 72 trap nights, with a 0.05 probability of detection per day and 0.73 photographic event rate every 100 trap nights. Due to a lack of confirmed class I sightings (e.g., specimen, photograph) in the 18 years of this study, and no other class I observations since 1986 in the United States, we conclude that the jaguarundi is likely extirpated from the United States. Based on survey effort and results from México, we would have expected to detect jaguarundis over the course of the study if still extant in Texas. We recommend that state and federal agencies consider jaguarundis as extirpated from the United States and initiate recovery actions as mandated in the federal jaguarundi recovery plan. These recovery actions include identification of suitable habitat in Texas, identification of robust populations in México, and re‐introduction of the jaguarundi to Texas.


| INTRODUC TI ON
The jaguarundi (Puma yagouaroundi) is an understudied, cryptic, small neotropical felid with the second-largest distribution range of smallbodied cats in the western hemisphere (Caso et al., 2015;Giordano, 2015). Jaguarundis arose in the Puma-genetic lineage and share common ancestors with the much larger puma (Puma concolor) in North America. Jaguarundis have an atypical felid appearance, with an elongated body, short limbs, and a small oval-sized, blunt head, thus leading to being referred to as weasel or otter cats (Giordano, 2015).
In the United States, the last confirmed Class I sighting of a jaguarundi occurred in 1986 and was a road-killed individual 3.2 km east of Brownsville, Texas on State Highway 4 (Grassman & Tewes, 2004;Tewes & Everett, 1986). In 2013, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife (USFWS) published the Gulf Coast jaguarundi recovery plan, which defined recovery and management actions to recover jaguarundis in Texas, however, stopped short of classifying jaguarundi as extirpated due to lack of peer-reviewed scientific evidence (USFWS, 2013). The 5-year review (USFWS, 2018) confirmed the recovery plan (USFWS, 2013) represents the most current distribution records of jaguarundis in Texas. However, current range maps issued K E Y W O R D S camera-trap, endangered, extirpation, felid conservation, Puma yagouaroundi, recovery, South Texas, Tamaulipas

T A X O N O M Y C L A S S I F I C A T I O N
Biogeography; Conservation ecology; Population ecology by the USFWS's Ecological Conservation Online System does not reflect these findings and extends current potential range throughout the lower 18 counties of southern Texas (USFWS, 2021). Over the last 7 years, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department reclassified jaguarundis as state extirpated. Furthermore, due to their continued endangered status, federal projects are still mandated to undergo Section 7 ESA consultation with USFWS for jaguarundi, resulting in mitigation potentially being done in areas where they may not occur.
Vegetation communities include montane deciduous forests, tropical deciduous forests, and semi-arid thornshrub communities.
We conducted camera surveys to determine the presence of small-to medium-sized felids (i.e., ocelots, bobcats, and jaguarundis) and other native carnivores in Texas (e.g., coyote [Canis latrans]) and México (i.e., jaguar [Panthera onca]) dependent on each specific study objective. In each study area, cameras were attached to wooden stakes, trees, or shrub trunks, and t-posts approximately 0.3-1.0 m above the ground depending on terrain Lombardi et al., 2020). This height range is standard worldwide for camera trapping small to large felids (Aronsen, 2010; Flores & Morales, 2019; Lombardi et al., 2020;Sollman et al., 2013;Weaver et al., 2005). Camera array designs varied by study, but camera station or individual camera placement was focused on active wildlife trails and along caliche or earthen ranch roads within or adjacent to dense to mixed woody cover patches in Texas and México.
Additional camera locations in Texas included along ox-bow lakes and highway rights-of-ways.

| Period 2010-2021
We used 20 camera traps to survey within the two Lower Rio

| Species identification
Following camera trap deployment, we classified photographs based on species and identified any jaguarundi photographs. Felids (wild and domestic) were identified by technicians and experienced biologists based on body size, morphology, and pelage patterns that are unique to each species. Any discrepancies were reviewed further with a more experienced felid biologist. Jaguarundis have a distinctive appearance with a relatively small, flat elongated blunt head profile, a long slender body (53-73.5), short legs, and a long tail (27-59 cm) (Figure 2; Caso, 2013;Giordano, 2015;Hunter, 2015).
Unlike other medium-sized felids in the study region, jaguarundis are uniformly colored with two pelage morphs: red-brown morph ranging from bright brick red to pale tawny red, and a gray morph ranging from dark blackish gray to pale slate gray (Caso, 2013;Giordano, 2015;Hunter, 2015).

| Analysis
Over their geographic range, there is a scarcity of basic camera trap data analyses of the jaguarundi, especially in the northern half of their distribution. In study areas where we detected jaguarundi, we conducted three camera trap analyses: latency to detection, photographic trap success, and occupancy/detection probability. We defined independent jaguarundi detections as the photographic record of a jaguarundi within a 30 min window at a specific camera station.
More than one detection within a 30-minute window at the same location was assumed to be the same individual and was not considered an independent detection (Karlin & De La Paz, 2015;Kelly & Holub, 2008). Following Kelly and Holub (2008)  We quantified a baseline occupancy and detection rate for jaguarundi in areas where they were detected using a single-season occupancy framework in the R package unmarked (Kéry & Chandler, 2012). Occupancy (ψ) in this context is the probability that a jaguarundi will be present at a particular site, provided it is detected, and detection (ρ) was defined as the probability of detecting a jaguarundi at a particular site, on a specified occasion (Kéry & Chandler, 2012).
For study areas with jaguarundis, we defined a capture matrix of 1 (present) and 0 (not present) for each day. If more than one jaguarundi were detected on the same day, only the first detection was counted for that day. Because our interest was to quantify a baseline result of occupancy and detection, we did not conduct further analyses of environmental effects for each parameter. If baseline models for specific survey periods did not converge, we did not report them in this analysis.

| DISCUSS ION
Other areas of Texas (i.e., Edwards Plateau, Big-Bend-Trans Pecos Region, and Eastern Texas coastal plain) have been postulated as a potential jaguarundi range based on credible class II sightings (Giordano et al., 2011;Tewes & Everett, 1986 & Veech, 2017;Karlin & De La Paz, 2015). Felid camera and live trap studies on the mid-coastal plain of Texas also failed to produce class I observations (see Blankenship et al., 2006;Heilbrun et al., 2003). Like the southern Edward's Plateau and upper coastal plain, the Big Bend and Trans-Pecos of Texas also lie outside the known historical and current geographic distribution of jaguarundis (Bailey, 1905;Caso et al., 2015). Giordano et al. (2011) (Caso & Domínguez, 2018), and further south in coastal Tamaulipas (Caso, 1994(Caso, , 2013Giordano, 2015).

| Conservation implications
Jaguarundis are likely extirpated in Texas, and we recommend that USFWS consider designating jaguarundis as extirpated in the United States (Texas) to move forward with jaguarundi recovery efforts as mandated in the jaguarundi recovery plan (USFWS, 2013). The length of the study (18 years) and size of the camera trapping effort (>320,000 TN in the United States) without a detection suggests jaguarundis no longer exist within; or proximate to, their historic range in southern Texas. Once designated as extirpated, we suggest that federal and state agencies follow recovery strategies as outlined in the Gulf Coast jaguarundi recovery plan. These recovery efforts include restoring, protecting, and reconnecting habitat, public outreach and education, reducing risk of road mortality, and evaluating the feasibility of jaguarundi reintroduction into South Texas (USFWS, 2013). Such efforts will require extensive and rigorous geospatial habitat models to be conducted in southern Texas to identify potentially suitable habitats for jaguarundi reintroduction.
Texas is 97% privately owned and collaboration among private landowners, nongovernmental agencies, and academic institutions will be required to help ensure successful re-introduction efforts.
We strongly recommend further population monitoring through live trapping and camera surveys in northeastern México as an integral part of the conservation and management of jaguarundis in the region. The ecology of these felids is poorly known, and new research will help fill in knowledge gaps, such as potential interactions with bobcats. Furthermore, such efforts would also aid in the identification of jaguarundi populations with robust size, density, and genetic diversity to serve as potential source populations for jaguarundi reintroduction in southern Texas.